


Anytime

by Tiikeria



Series: Care for Me? [3]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Caretaking, Epilepsy, Gen, Seizures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-13
Updated: 2014-02-13
Packaged: 2018-01-12 04:51:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1182131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tiikeria/pseuds/Tiikeria
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>His quiet “thank you” was met with smiles he never saw, a soft chorus of “anytime, Gav” echoing in his ears. [Part 3 of Care for Me?]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Anytime

**Author's Note:**

> So, by popular request, here is the next part in the Care for Me universe! God, I can’t stop writing this shit; if anyone has any ideas they have for this, please send me some, because I need more of seizure!AU. I need it. Much thanks to twistedsweets on Tumblr for reading over this beforehand! Also, this is the longest fic in the series so far; I have no clue how that happened. Anyway, enjoy, guys~!

It had been a week. A week of exhaustion; a week of careful, worried eyes following his every move; a week of trying to sleep more and stress less. The last thing he wanted was a repeat of that night. Ryan was still very careful with him, though Gavin could understand why. It wasn’t easy when you unexpectedly find out one of your co-workers has seizures, especially when you discover it when you find said co-worker in the midst of one. But, Ryan had kept true to his word, and had not spoken about the incident in front of any of the other guys in the office, which earned him Gavin’s undying gratitude. In fact, Ryan had only spoke about it once at all, when, the next day, he pulled Gavin aside to ask how he was feeling, a question that made him smile later on.  
  
But now, a week later, Xbox controller in hand, he knew something wasn’t right; his attention span was so much shorter than it normally was, which was a feat that very few would have thought he was capable of. He could feel the need to give in to a darkness; he fought tooth and nail. _Not here,_ was his mantra, _Not where they could see._  
  
“God fucking damnit, Gavin!” Michael raged beside him, snapping him out of his mental battle; they were in the middle of a Let’s Play in Grand Theft Auto V, trying to set up a stunt, but failing miserably. It was mostly due to Gavin’s stupid mistakes at the moment; they had been through 4 cargo bobs at this point, and tensions were high in the small office, “How the fuck are you this fucking bad?”  
  
“Sorry, Micool,” he smiled apologetically at the angry Jersey boy, his voice quieter than normal, though only received a glare in response.  
  
“Anyone but Gavin, go get a cargo bob,” Jack sighed, following it up with a surprised curse as his character went sailing thanks to an AI running him over.  
  
It was getting harder. The pull was calling to him, and he desperately wanted to let it take him. Maybe then he could be useful once more; his mind’s resolve was failing, trying to keep him from giving in. It was sudden, hearing Ryan’s voice in the back of his mind,  _If you ever feel like that again in the office, when I'm here, send me a call. I'll know, alright? Just so you aren't alone while it happens._    
  
 _Ryan._  His brain was still coherent enough to allow him to pull out his phone. The voices around him were starting to fade, starting to sound so far away; he didn’t have much time, and he knew it. He managed to hit the familiar name, and watch as it came up in the midst of a call, before he finally allowed himself to black out.   
  
The sharp ring of a phone was what drew Ryan's focus away from the game on his Xbox; he paused the game amidst cries of "wow, unprofessional, Ryan!" and "fucking pro employees here." His brows furrowed in confusion as he took in the name across his screen. _Gavin Free_. He looked up, intent on asking the Lad if he had butt dialed him, but found himself going cold. That stare. It was a warning; Gavin was warning him, just like he had instructed the man to do. Instantly, he was clearing his stuff from in front of him, "Pause the recording."  
  
The other occupants of the room swiveled around to stare at the man, equal parts confused and annoyed, "Why, so you can take that call? We can wait for you," Geoff offered, his mind going over what could make his fellow Gent need to pause their recording.  
  
"I said fucking pause it!" his voice was urgent and left no room for argument, as he stood, his long gait bringing him over to the so far silent Gavin, taking the controller out of his slack hand and moving the phone from where it was perched on Gavin's knee. It was only when he pulled the chair out from under the desk and turned him towards the others that Geoff realized what had Ryan so panicked.   
  
"Shit on my fucking dick," he swore, standing as well, his normally tired eyes alert as he looked at Jack, "Can you move the shit off the couch?" Jack made no protest, recognizing the seriousness of the situation, even if he didn't understand it. Michael and Ray pulled off their headphones, though staying where they were, unwilling to get in the way of whatever was happening.  
  
"He called me," Ryan stated, glancing at Geoff as the older man knelt beside him in front of the glassy-eyed Brit, "I told him if he was ever in the office and felt it coming on, to call me."  
  
"It's a fucking good thing he did. We should give him a medal for actually following fucking instructions," Geoff dead panned in response, searching Gavin's gaze for any sign that he may come out of it quickly; his heart dropped when he didn't find what he so desperately wanted to find.  
  
Jack spoke next, cutting through the tense seconds of silence, "Couch is cleared, Geoff."  
  
Without a word, Ryan stood, lifting Gavin from the chair, as gentle as he would be with his newborn daughter, quietly moving him over to the sofa, feeling a sense of déjà vu, only, this time, he wasn't the only one witnessing Gavin's fit. Jack had moved away to give them plenty of space to tend to the Brit, though all he really wanted to do was find a way to help. Find a way to fix whatever was going on.   
  
Ryan rested Gavin's head in his lap, starting to card his hand through the messy hair, hoping it would help as much as it had done just a week before. Geoff moved to kneel by the couch, feeling at a bit of a loss, knowing it was up to Gavin to come back. The eldest Gent only turned when he heard Ray's shaky voice finally ask what the three in the dark were wondering, "What's going on? Is Gavin okay?"  
  
Geoff sighed, knowing his is definitely not the way Gavin would have wanted the other men to find out about his epilepsy. He would have preferred to tell them himself, as opposed to them witnessing it firsthand, "He's having a seizure."  
  
"He's epileptic?" Jack questioned, his gaze expressing his confusion, "Since when?"  
  
"Sense he was a kid, actually. Or that's what he told me after he had one right after he moved here."  
  
"But he's not shaking," Michael's gaze wasn't on Geoff, but on Gavin, his whole body tense as he took in the blank gaze and the rigid muscles of his boi, "Don't you, like, shake or some shit when you have a seizure."  
  
"His are a different kind," Geoff said quietly, grateful that they were keeping their wits about them, despite just finding out that a man they had known for a few years had a normally serious ailment, "His only effect his brain. To him, he blacks out for a period of time, to us...he does this. It's like his brain shuts down."  
  
"Has he been sleeping, Geoff? I know he mentioned the other night that lack of sleep made it worse for him," Ryan asked, his eyebrow lifting in question.  
  
"As far as I know. I dunno if it's just residual shit from the last one or if he's been fucking with me, and hasn't been sleeping as much as he knows he should."  
  
Jack, Ray, and Michael's gazes all landed on Ryan, all wanting to know the same thing, "How did you know about it?" Ryan's lopsided smile was sheepish.  
  
"He had one a week ago, when we were the only two here. It's fucking terrifying if you're the only one and you have no idea what's happening,” Ryan’s voice got quieter by the end of the sentence, his gaze moving from the other men in the room back down to Gavin, his hand still playing with the sandy locks, hoping the lad would come out of it.   
  
Silence took over the office for the first time in quite a while, all eyes on the man on the couch, worry gripping their hearts as they waited for their hyperactive, boisterous Brit to return to them. The ticking of the clock mocked them, reminding them of just how much time had passed since Gavin’s seizure had started. Ray was quietly toying with the hem of his shirt; Michael had his arms crossed, jaw clenched, eyes boring holes into Gavin; Jack was fidgeting in his seat, wanting so much to be able to do more than just sit there; Geoff was gently rubbing the Brit’s arm, an almost unconscious soothing action, though who he was trying to sooth was up for debate; and Ryan just continued his petting, mentally begging Gavin to start showing signs of life again. Those glassy eyes would haunt them all; it already had in two cases.   
  
He could feel a hand in his hair; he knew he was seeing something move in front of his face, though it was like he was trapped. Unable to move, to respond to the gentle touch. The hand was hypnotizing, though, and he couldn’t help but follow it with his eyes, tracking it silently when the caressing stopped, fingers drawing simple designs before him. He followed them, almost feeling as if he had to. Why, he wouldn’t know, but something was telling him to watch the digits. He thought he could hear someone saying his name; they were so far away, though. Who was calling for him? Why did he know that voice?  
  
It was almost instantaneously that the spell seemed to break as he blinked, staring up into Ryan’s kind, if not worried, blue eyes. The fingers, belonging to the aforementioned man, moved away, going back to playing with his hair. All at once the exhaustion took hold; his body relaxing, his whole being feeling drained. His blinking was sluggish.  
  
“You back with us, buddy?” he turned his head, giving Geoff a tired look, his lips twitching in a half assed smile.  
  
“Yeah…how long…?” his voice came out laced with sleepiness, his words very slightly slurred, his accent even more pronounced than it normally would had he been in a more awake state.  
  
“About a half an hour,” Ryan supplied, keeping his voice low for Gavin’s benefit, “You had us worried.”  
  
 _Us._  His gaze moved slowly from Geoff to the men hovering behind him, concerned gazes meeting his as he looked from Michael to Ray to Jack; silently, he gave them a guilty, apologetic smile, “Hullo…”  
  
“You fucking have a seizure, and all you can say is 'hello’?” Michael huffed, moving forwards first, dropping to his knees, giving Gavin a hard stare, “You really are an asshole.”  
  
“Micool,” he whined back, giving the short-tempered man a lopsided grin, though it was one not nearly as bright as it normally would be. However, his expression turned from sheepish to surprised when he found himself being pulled into a loose hug.  
  
“Don’t do that to me again, Gav.”  
  
“I’ll try, for you, my boi,” he smiled tiredly as he was released, Ray catching his attention this time, the Puerto Rican shaking his head, a relieved smile gracing his face.  
  
“Alright there, X-Ray?”  
  
“I should be asking you that, Vav,” Ray chuckled quietly, “You feeling okay, now? I mean, I can’t fight crime out on my own. I’d get my ass kicked.”  
  
“Tippy toppers,” Gavin shifted, Ryan helping him sit up quietly, Geoff moving to sit on his other side, hovering like an overprotective parent, “Though I think I might have to skip out on crime fighting tonight.”  
  
“Sure you’re going to be alright, Gavin?” Jack’s voice was still worried, giving the man a once over with a concentrated stare, looking for any signs that Gavin might slip back into his trance-like state. He refused to believe he would be fine until he saw it for himself, damn it, Gavin could see it in his eyes.  
  
Gavin turned his lopsided smile over to the bearded man, trying not to feel overwhelmed at the care he was receiving, “I’ll be fine after a kip, Jack. I promise. Takes a lot out of me, that does.”  
  
It was almost as if they were waiting for that cue; within minutes he was using Geoff as a pillow, the man refusing to move away from Gavin; Ryan vacating to Geoff’s desk. Jack had brought him a blanket to curl up under; Michael hit the lights, not minding the darkness in the room, as long as it meant Gavin would be alright; Ray jokingly handed his partner in crime the plush version of himself, Gavin laughing softly as he took it, cuddling the toy for his co-worker’s amusement. He tried to fight sleep at first, trying to identify the warmth in his chest with his exhausted mind; it didn’t take long before he was giving in. But it wasn’t before the realization hit him, the warmth finally being recognized as fondness for the men around him. His American family. His quiet “thank you” was met with smiles he never saw; his body giving in to the welcoming pull of sleep, a soft chorus of “anytime, Gav” echoing in his ears.


End file.
